Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[Joeynach]

So, accept the reality of the situation.  If you are going to be "cheap," then you are going to have a less than optimal experience on any major network or operator these days.  You can never get ahead of the curve for very long.  Just keeping up with the curve requires spending money frequently on new handsets -- something that you do not seem willing to do.

 

AJ

I guess I never really viewed signing a 2 year contract and using the device purchased with for the full 2 years before upgrading again to be "cheaping out".  If the landscape of the market has changed I would expect the industry's whole 2 year contracts thing to go the way of the VCR.

[Fraydog]

I get the frustration. We've all felt that at some point. I know that a tri-band device will help. That's why I went off on that spiel. It was not to preach. It was to help provide a better experience. The last thing I want to do is chase Sprint subscribers off here. I would much rather see the problems get fixed, but B25 is going to be likely within a 4-6 Mbps frame. That's just the physics of it.

[kyle_4thousand]

I guess I never really viewed signing a 2 year contract and using the device purchased with for the full 2 years before upgrading again to be "cheaping out". If the landscape of the market has changed I would expect the industry's whole 2 year contracts thing to go the way of the VCR.

At least you aren't in as bad of a boat as my parents and sister. They all got iPhone 4's a year ago when we upgraded. Still rocking the 3G. I got the GS3 at the time like you did, and I bought the Nexus 5 full price back in December with some xmas money after I found out B41 was live at my school. Made a world of difference.

[Joeynach]

Here's the size up of the situation with the other carriers:

 

T-Mobile has devices that work with AWS LTE B4 but most don't work with upcoming rural PCS LTE deployments or upcoming 700 A B12 deployments.

 

Verizon has devices they still sell with no XLTE access. They only started selling XLTE devices last year. Lots of people can only hit B13.

 

Sprint is fairly straightforward with their band situation when you compare it to AT&T and Verizon. And even T-Mobile is going to deploy a bunch of spectrum most of their current devices don't support.

 

Spark phones are tri-band. The iPhone 5S and 5C are dual band phones. Older models with 4GLTE but no Spark are single band.

Thanks for the rundown Fray, most of this I have pieced together already, the landscape is definitely crowded with all sorts of crazy one off things you have to know for each provider. It's insane, I don't know how the average dude of the street can really make an informed decision, but I think its safe to say when I get my next device I will be a much more informed consumer and will definitely be going for the highest technology stacked phone to take advantage of the latest LTE technology roll outs.

[Joeynach]

At least you aren't in as bad of a boat as my parents and sister. They all got iPhone 4's a year ago when we upgraded. Still rocking the 3G. I got the GS3 at the time like you did, and I bought the Nexus 5 full price back in December with some xmas money after I found out B41 was live at my school. Made a world of difference.

How did you hit the B41 in December, I thought the B41 was disabled until they pushed the OTA to enable it which didn't come until like April.

[WiWavelength]

I guess I never really viewed signing a 2 year contract and using the device purchased with for the full 2 years before upgrading again to be "cheaping out".  If the landscape of the market has changed I would expect the industry's whole 2 year contracts thing to go the way of the VCR.

 

For the network experience that you seem to want, that would be "cheaping out."  Or going with a "cheap" transition handset -- as you suggested you should have done in hindsight -- would have compromised your network experience for a year or two while you waited for a multi band handset.  Either way, you basically have to spend money or accept less.

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

I disagree with your "ad naseum complaints" statement.  I am trying to make observations, often time ask questions, and sometimes like above just express my opinion (or desire).  Whether it's this market or others I travel to.  Some of those observations have a pattern to them given my device limitations, but not once do I rant off about poor service like a Sprint.com forum.  I have been here too long now for that.  I know 100% my device sucks and my experience is limited by it, but I also don't believe there is anything wrong with expressing being "disappointed" when appropriate. I am trying to be unbias, I want Sprint to succeed too, I'm a freaking shareholder.  If you feel differently PM me and let me know your stance, its your site Robert, not mine.

 

You can be unbiased.  That's fine.  But to continue to complain about the poor B25-only experience is pointless.  We know it is bad for you.  So the only thing you could report that would be of interest to our other members is where you see improvement.  We don't need to know that Joeynach's B25 still sucks over and over again.  Until a majority of Sprint LTE customers are on Triband and can spread out the load, B25 will not likely ever be above 'fair' in urban and many suburban areas.  And we all know it is not even 'fair' in many places, especially in the Loop.

 

Robert

[Joeynach]

For the network experience that you seem to want, that would be "cheaping out."  Or going with a "cheap" transition handset -- as you suggested you should have done in hindsight -- would have compromised your network experience for a year or two while you waited for a multi band handset.  Either way, you basically have to spend money or accept less.

 

AJ

Well to clarify the transition or "waiting period" I was talking about I only would have done if I felt I would be waiting a few months to get to a tri-band device, not a full year.  That wasn't an effort to save money persay, it would have been an effort to not upgrade and get left in the dust in just a few short months.  I can't remember the landscape of devices at that time and how far we actually were from Tri-Band, but I was on WiMax before my GS3, it wasn't that bad actually.  My phone had turned into a terd after 2 years of being beat up, but the WiMax service was pretty stable I recall.

[Vince]

Not to side with anyone, but holding on to a single-band device has it's benefits here in Chicago. He still has access to two 5x5 LTE carriers. And with many customers being divided amongst three 5x5 fdd lte carriers, plus a 20mhz swath of tdd LTE, his speeds should be increasing consistently. Especially with all the flagship releases happening lately, and their followers running to Sprint stores to upgrade.

[kyle_4thousand]

How did you hit the B41 in December, I thought the B41 was disabled until they pushed the OTA to enable it which didn't come until like April.

There's a way to enable the other bands without the OTA with root and flashing the .15 radio.

[Joeynach]

There's a way to enable the other bands without the OTA with root and flashing the .15 radio.

Oh yeah, I know what you speak of, but the whole root thing is too advanced for me to do on my own and some of my friends who did it permanently F'd up their devices.  Scared the crap out of me.

[S4GRU]

Not to side with anyone, but holding on to a single-band device has it's benefits here in Chicago. He still has access to two 5x5 LTE carriers. And with many customers being divided amongst three 5x5 fdd lte carriers, plus a 20mhz swath of tdd LTE, his speeds should be increasing consistently. Especially with all the flagship releases happening lately, and their followers running to Sprint stores to upgrade.

 

I agree there has been some improvement in some places in the Chicago market with the addition of a second PCS LTE carrier.  And anyone who wants to live with that instead of upgrading to a Triband device is welcome to do so.  But saying the same thing over and over again about how he is unhappy with his PCS LTE experience is pointless.  We all know he is unhappy with his current uniband experience.  We accept that premise.

 

It's logged.  We got it.  We have full comprehension.  It pretty much can't get worse for him.  A miserable baseline has been established.  So from here forward, we only want to hear him post about what has changed for the better.  If nothing changes, we will comfortably assume the status quo is maintained.  That he is still unhappy with his B25 only experience.

 

Robert

[Vince]

My real test downtown will definitely be the Chicago air and water show next month. A million+ on the lakefront. Last August, my iPhone 5 worked, albeit very slow. This year, I'm anxious to see how a triband device performs with that kind of crowd.

[jamisonshaw125]

My real test downtown will definitely be the Chicago air and water show next month. A million+ on the lakefront. Last August, my iPhone 5 worked, albeit very slow. This year, I'm anxious to see how a triband device performs with that kind of crowd.

Make sure you sit next to some att and verizon customers...and magenta. Espcially magenta. B41, work your magic.

[WiWavelength]

Make sure you sit next to some att and verizon customers...and magenta. Espcially magenta.

Magenta is the wireless brand for girls. So, yeah, definitely sit next to them.

 

AJ

[Vince]

Make sure you sit next to some att and verizon customers...and magenta. Espcially magenta. B41, work your magic.

I usually only go with my brother, who also has Sprint, so comparing other carriers will be difficult. We're both big aviation fans, and good data on the beach is important. Twitter updates on which planes are departing Gary airport and headed downtown, and the streaming cockpit audio. At least this year, my m8 has an actual radio built-in for the show's broadcast. One less thing to carry on that hot, humid mile walk to the beach.

[Joeynach]

Here's the size up of the situation with the other carriers:

 

T-Mobile has devices that work with AWS LTE B4 but most don't work with upcoming rural PCS LTE deployments or upcoming 700 A B12 deployments.

 

Verizon has devices they still sell with no XLTE access. They only started selling XLTE devices last year. Lots of people can only hit B13.

 

AT&T devices mostly support B2, B4, B5, and B17. Yet there's also future frequencies they'll add that even those devices will not support like B29 and B30.

 

Sprint is fairly straightforward with their band situation when you compare it to AT&T and Verizon. And even T-Mobile is going to deploy a bunch of spectrum most of their current devices don't support.

 

Spark phones are tri-band. The iPhone 5S and 5C are dual band phones. Older models with 4GLTE but no Spark are single band.

Fierce Wireless recently posted an article on exactly what you were summarizing, nat'l spectrum holdings by carrier.

Article Link.

[Fraydog]

Fierce Wireless recently posted an article on exactly what you were summarizing, nat'l spectrum holdings by carrier.

Article Link.

I know I have the scars from those flame wars to prove it.

[Joeynach]

I know I have the scars from those flame wars to prove it.

Shouldn't the article make some sort of assertion about subscriber volume along with the spectrum holdings.  Its the balance between the two that creates an attractive LTE network.  Throwing just the LTE spectrum maps up doesn't tell the whole story.  A ten year old can read the maps and see VZW has the biggest assets nationwide but without the inclusion of how many subscribers they have on their 10x10 or 20x20 pipes its almost meaningless.

[kyle_4thousand]

I think the Best Buy in Crystal Lake has a DAS... My RSRP improves by 20 dBm on B25 when instep inside.

[cubsfnn555]

Ok, so I'm at the va in the loop, I do not know what the complaint about lte is here, I'm getting FULL SIGNAL WITH 18 down and almost 5 up!

[Vince]

Ok, so I'm at the va in the loop, I do not know what the complaint about lte is here, I'm getting FULL SIGNAL WITH 18 down and almost 5 up!

It's 11:30pm. Try that same spot at noon.

[cubsfnn555]

I've been here during the DAY from 11 to almost 4 before with almost the same results..

[Vince]

I've been here during the DAY from 11 to almost 4 before with almost the same results..

Have you checked your engineering screen? Do you have a triband device? Let us know what band or carrier you're connected to. There is a possibility of that particular tower just not getting hammered with traffic, but who knows.

[cubsfnn555]

I'm on and iPhone 5c, and it's been on band 26 before, I was almost on the top floor of the hospital..